Bernardino Cortez

Bernardino Cortez serves as a Purchasing Agent at the Naval Air Warfare Center Air Division (N00421), where he plays a critical role in procuring advanced avionics, electronic warfare systems, and mission-critical aircraft subsystems essential to maintaining naval air superiority. His responsibilities encompass the full lifecycle of acquisition activities—from requirements validation and market research to contract award and administration—ensuring alignment with the agency’s mission to modernize airborne sensor suites and sustain legacy platforms. Cortez specializes in complex technical procurements involving instrumentation, signal processing, and integrated computing systems, often supporting research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) initiatives for next-generation naval aviation capabilities. He maintains consistent working relationships with leading defense and aerospace contractors including SABRE SYSTEMS, LLC, THE BOEING COMPANY, SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, SYSTEMS PLANNING AND ANALYSIS, INC., and ONTIC ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING, INC. These partnerships reflect a preference for established industry primes with proven expertise in high-reliability electronics, mission systems integration, and specialized manufacturing. Cortez routinely collaborates with these vendors to ensure technical compliance, timely delivery, and adherence to military specifications under FAR and DFARS frameworks. Cortez exhibits a strong commitment to small business participation, with nearly half of his acquisitions structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. While no single socioeconomic category dominates, his pattern reflects a deliberate effort to expand opportunities for qualified small businesses in technical domains, balancing mission-critical needs with broader socioeconomic goals. His procurement focus centers on NAICS codes 334513 and 334515, reflecting deep engagement in the manufacturing of industrial measurement and electrical testing instruments, alongside significant activity in 511210 (software publishing) and 334111 (electronic computer manufacturing). This underscores his technical expertise in procuring precision instrumentation, signal conditioning systems, embedded computing hardware, and mission software critical to modern naval aviation platforms.